Blood flows from Brooklyn
by ColonKellyHigginsGoil304
Summary: She is more unique than you'll ever know. Her story starts out tragic. The ending is up to her. War is rising and she is the key to either make or break us. What will happen? Read and review please!
1. Chapter 1

The night was dark and cool. Well, I guess you couldn't call it night anymore, just really really early morning! Anyways, I was walking, alone, as usual. The moon was bright and full, casting its light down on me as I walked the streets of New York. Bums lay in the alleys; drunk, sleeping, and smelling horrible! Did I mention I was hungry? Hungry... that might not be the best adjective I could use, but it's out there now so we'll move on.

As I said, it was dark, and with me and my abnormally accurate eye sight, I could detect just about anything; including the mouse under the broken wheel barrel, the crow sitting stone still on the fence, and the two boys eyeing me in the alley ahead. But I wasn't afraid of them. On the contrary, they should be afraid of me, because the only thing on the streets to fear the most is not the muggers, not the vulgar drunks, and not the horny teenage boys, but me and me alone.

I held my head high as I closed in on the side street, my senses ready for an attack, ready for a counter-attack. As I had suspected, my arm was grabbed sharply and roughly as one boy swung me into the view. Both were dirty, clothing torn and dirt stained, and looking at me with thirst. Thirst... I think that was the adjective I was looking for earlier...

"Heyy dere, pretty lady. What' cha doin' walkin' the streets alone at nigh'?" The boy who got ahold of me sneered. His eyes were were glassy looking, so I assumed he had been drinking earlier- that made things easier.

"Do ya want us ta protect ya? We'll keep ya safe from the... dangers Brooklyn holds...!" The second boy cracked up from his own wittiness, while I just stood there, staring.

"Ya gotta name, sweetheart? Can't ya speak? Or does da cat gotcha tongue?!... Whoa!"

Boy number one went flying through the air. Boy number two watched as his friend went "smack" into the brick wall behind. He then stood guarded, glaring at me.

"Ya think ya so tough, huh? Ya think ya can just dance on in here and get away so easily? Huh, do ya?" He started towards me, ready to strike, but after a blink, I was gone from his sight. I had already started running behind him, over the wooden crates, and jumping from wall between wall, up to meet his falling friend. Boy two watched in horror as I carried boy one to the highest part of the fire escape flashing my sparkling whites at him, literally sparkling. Boy one's face was covered with fresh scratches and blood slowly flowing from them, gleaming in the moonlight at me- I was pleased with this.

Well, I guess now is a good time to tell you about me, huh?

My name is Stephanie Rush, I'm older than you'll ever know... and I'm a vampire...

I know, I know, crazy reading about a vampire in an early 1900's New York story, but, hey, it happens. I came to be this way long ago, back in Ireland, early late 1700's early 1800's, and my condition is very interesting actually. See, my mother was raped by my vampire father, and he was going to kill her right after he had finished satisfying his sick-self, but something stopped him, and from what my mother has told me, it had been because he heard something, softly at first. It grew louder and louder, and my mother waited and waited for his teeth to strike her, but then all of a sudden, my father whispered, "This can not be..."

Apparently, he heard my heart beat. Crazy, right? Just conceived and he hears a heart beat, that just doesn't add up. No, no, a vampire having a human conceive his "child!"... that just doesn't add up. My father took off, I guess hybrids like myself get the honorary privilege of living, and within days my mother found herself getting morning sickness, horrible back aches, and within weeks, I was born.

My mother was very frail and sick after the birth, so she had to stay in bed as the doctor cared for me over the next few days. I grew rapidly; from day one, I looked like I was two. From day two, I looked like I was three. From day three I looked like I was four. And as those days went by, I became quite strong, exceptionally fast, and, in the words of Doctor Manson, freakishly smart. I had the IQ of a high school sophomore and the maturity of an eighth grade student by day(age) four. Mum was very proud of my intelligence and stamina, even if it was a bit creepy. Day four she told me about what happened to her and how I came about. She also told me about her life, her family, her memories. I didn't need to hear it, for I had already seen and felt what she experienced throughout her life while in the womb, but listening to her voice talking to me made the experience ten times better.

I learned that my mother was raped once before by a drunk coming home from a pub late one night. She was thirteen years young as walking from her friends house when that incident happened. Grams and Gramps weren't very happy, but being uberly catholic, made her keep the kid. Were there any ways of having abortions back then? I don't really know, but if so, it probably wasn't too pleasant. Anyways, nine months later, she gave birth to my half brother, Christopher. It was hard work, but my mum finished school, got a job, and paid for Chris' school, along with the financial help of grandma and grandpa. When Chris finally graduated, my mom gave him her life savings and he traveled to America to become a business men for small towns. She had not heard from him in months.

On day five, my mother past away, peacefully and quietly. I service was small, right after sun down, and I had to stay concealed most of the time because the town's people would suspect something, but they noticed anyways. Vampire attacks weren't common, but they were known in the town, and seeing me almost explained everything. Other rumors flew around, yes, about just being hidden from view for years, or adoption, or sorcery, and other very justifiable and very non-justifiable ideas. No one ever asked, nor had the chance, because after I said good-bye to my mother for the last time, I took my inherited money, left the house to a single mother of five(no charge), and took off.

I didn't go far. I made it past Germany when a not so strange stranger crept up on me. He was hesitant at first, but when I sensed him, he had to appear or forever hold his peace. As he stepped under the light of the street lamp, and starred into my eyes, he whispered, "You have your mother's eyes." I replied, "...but I have your hair." He knelt down on one knee, his arms extended toward me, and I ran to him and gave him a bear hug. He picked me up and started to carry me aimlessly down the street, our dark hair intertwining while the wind blew from the south.

After that, I stuck with him for a few years, and for us, a few years was like a few weeks, for vampires, they don't sleep. For me though, every century, there is one day and one day only were I _must_ sleep. That's the human side of me I can't ignore. We found that out when my dad asked me if I ever fell asleep and actually dreamed before, and I said the night I was born, I fell asleep and never slept since. Then, we did an estimation on when I might sleep again and we came up with a century.

Another part is that I do need small portions of food about once every two weeks. So my dad would take me to places like Italy or France for food and would take the food _and_ the waiter with us for a midnight "snack".

Many people know that vampires can't go into the light in fear of burning to death and becoming dust in the wind. Well, unless you read Twilight where those lucky sons of bitches get to survive sunlight and!- sparkle like diamonds. For vampires, it usually starts when sunlight first touches your skin, and from that spot(if you don't move out of the light fast enough) your skin begins to black with ash, and it will spread across your skin as light continues to burn into you. If one part of you becomes dust and floats away in the wind, there is no stopping the rest of your skin from becoming dust and you are forever gone. If you get out fast enough, the skin will heal over quickly, but you'll always remember that pain, always.

As for me, the only way to even begin the process of burning is at my head; my face to be exact. the rest of me can be touched the the sun's rays, but if my face is touched, I start to burn, quickly. This was another experiment my dad did with me. He showed me how it works for him, even though I told him not to, but he did anyways. It was only his arm, but I still didn't like seeing him in agony. Then I held my breath, closed my eyes real tight, then stuck my hand into the gold beams outside of the window and felt... nothing. I stuck both arms, nothing. I stuck my head out, piercing pain. I screamed as my face felt like it was pealing, layer by layer, then moving down my neck to the rest of me. Dad pulled me back and cradled me as I wept into his shoulder.

After that, he didn't make me go into the sun anymore. He did cleverly buy very special, very expensive fabric guaranteed to block out sun light and also be very fashionable! He created it into a hat and asked me to, one more time, stick my head into the sun light. Reluctant, but seeing how much it would mean to my father, I sucked in my gut and stuck my head out the window. I waited, but I felt no pain. I could sense his smirk from behind, and I did as well. I lifted my head so the hat's shadow completely covered my face, and I still felt no pain. We finally beat the sunlight. The cloth, however, did not work on full fledged vampire skin, so my dad was still unable to walk out during day, so I never did either.

My dad helped me figure out all of my quirks to being vampire and human, and not much later did he tell me that we needed to go our separate ways because vampires didn't usually stick with others in fear that when danger or rogue vampires came, they would become to attached to the other and both die trying to save the other. I asked if vampires ever got married. He told me it is a risky chance, but sometimes the love a vampire can give is the strongest power in the world. S0 naturally, our race wasn't large, or humans may then start to suspect us too often and not allow us to feed on them. They don't want it anyways when we do attack them, but they would find ways to keep us out.

We said good-bye, and he told me, with a promise, we would meet again someday. As I walked out of the house, into the sunlight, I looked back at the man I once despised for being the cause of my mother's death, and now saw him as the man who was just waiting for me to find him again. To show him he isn't just a monster, but he was a father, and he raised his and my mother's child well. Then I turned back around, and started walking to my new destination, home.

I returned to the town I was born in. I finally stopped growing and looked about sixteen-going-on-seventeen, but my eyes said different. They said I was older, much older, but full of life never-the-less. I returned to the cottage I stayed at for only a week, and saw the mother of five sitting outside on the lawn, with the children running around, laughing, smiling, joyous. I walking up to the gate and she looked at me curiously, trying to put her finger on who I was.

"Who are you child? Are you here to see Steven?" She was about to call out the boy's name when I held up my hand and answered, no.

"No. My name is Stephanie Rush. This is the house I use to live in." I waited for a reaction, but all I got was her starring at me. Then she replied to me, "You look so much older." I chuckled awkwardly and she stood up, walked over to me, and hug me tightly. She was a big boned women, red haired, wore and apron, the whole nine yards. She also smelled amazing, but I restrained myself and held my breath.

She took me inside and asked me to stay for dinner, which I did. she cooked a turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes in honor of my visit, and she asked me where I have been, where I'm going, and other stuff like that. I confided in her that I was with my dad for all these years and that my next stop was to visit my brother, who has never known of my existence. She was very interested in my life, and was very motherly. Her children were all over me, begging me to play with them, to give them piggie back rides, chance them around. They had cuts on their bodies, and it was becoming harder for me to resist the temptation to bite into their fragile skin...

I kept strong, I played with them, I ate the food, and talked to a women who I wish was my mother. Not that I'd rather have her over my actual mom, but that I wanted my mom to be here, loving, with kids of her own to care for. Steven was her oldest, my age, and very fun to talk to. We talked for most of the evening as Ms. O'Barry put the young-yens to bed. We were starting to get real close, and his neck was only a heartbeat way from having me sucking all the blood from it, but I couldn't. Not to this kind women. Not to this young boy. But he wanted to get closer, he seemed to form a crush on me. I didn't want to hurt him, and I needed to get out. So I gave him a swift kiss on the cheek, said I needed to catch a boat, and bolted out of there. I ran by Ms. O'Barry, thanked her again for her hospitality, and hopped on a boat going for America.

I didn't bother going to Ellis Island, so I swam underwater to shore and started searching for my half brother. I was becoming aware of new abilities, such as fantastic eye sight, excellent hearing, sharper senses, how to leash and unleash claws and fangs, and, my newest one, sniffing out different people. So with that, I traveled from town to town, trying to catch even the faintest whiff of my mother's scent, when I finally came across a small business lodge for a lawyer names Christopher Rush.

I walked in a there sat my brother, looking sharp in a formal outfit, reading papers near the fire.

"Can I held you, young lady?" He looked up at me with mom's eyes. I took of my hat and looked at him, and he thought the same thing.

"Do I... know you?" His voice quivered slightly as he began to stand and walk around his oak desk.

"No, you haven't never met me before, but we do have one thing in common..." He raised his eye brow. "Besides our eyes?" He asked jokingly. I laughed and became solemn again. "That, and where our eyes came from." His face was emotionless for a moment, then surprised, next curious, then calm. "You are my sister." It wasn't a question, but more of a statement, and I nodded "yes". "I haven't talked to mom in years, I had no idea she got married."

"Well, actually... she never got married, she was raped again, and she had me, but..." Chris' face was angered and surprised and mom was raped again and had to go through something like that like before. "But what? Is she here?!" His face brightened as he looked around as if she'd pop out and yell, "Surprise!", but as he continued to look the sadder I became. "No, Chris, she isn't here... she's dead." His face began to fall as he realized she wasn't going to appear. He sat down in his chair as I pulled one up to his desk and told him how mom died(not about me though) and how she talked about him constantly before she past, which made him cry more.

He took me home to his cottage to meet his wife, Sarah, and his son, Jacob. He took me in after he had finished grieving and I stayed with them and went to school. They found it odd that I looked so young, but so old at the same time, but Sarah loved me like a daughter, Jake loved me like an older sister, and Chris loved me like younger sister. I loved them back with every fiber in me, I loved them. And I almost even killed myself when a fire began to spread around the town and took my family away from me, all three of them. Chris and Sarah died trapped in their room from a fallen beam, and Chris told me to try and save Jake first when I went to break the door down, and I cried to let me help, but he said to go, that they would be okay. So I ran to jakes room, where he was sleeping in his bed while fire was bursting up from every corner of his room. With my huge adrenaline rush, I picked him up, busted through a wall, and ran him over to health station on the outskirts of the town.

I may be sun proof for the most part, but fire still does hurt! I healed by the time I got to a doctor, but I'm not saying it didn't hurt before then. I was also lucky to have had my hat on, because I always sleep with it over my head, just in case the sun managed to get through a crack in the wood while I slept. But as I ran, I realized it was silent. I blocked out every sound around me, all the screaming, crying, flames eating wood, everything except for Jake and me, and it was silent. His heart beat... was gone. the Doctor declared him dead when I finally got his attention, said that he probably died from inhaling too much smoke in his sleep. Chris and Sarah were found later and placed in the pile of dead bodies, the three of them laying together as a family, that I should be there with them, lying there, but I was not.

I felt like I had my own personal sun inside me, burning all of my insides, yet not ever ceasing, never giving me peace. The last bit of human died with Chris in that fire, and never saw it again. I had been taking out my rage on humans and their carelessness for years and years, decade after decade, being merciless and never, ever, being close to anyone.

So on that night, on the fire escape, as I was about to make both of those boys suffer, the boy in my arms looked up at me with Chris' eyes, with my eyes, with my mother's eyes. And I gasped loudly, just as he did, and I then realized what I had become. I knocked the boy on the head, making him go un-conscious, laid him down gently, then made myself invisible, and flew away, the boy on the ground waving his cane at me.


	2. Chapter 2

I ended up landing on the top of the Brooklyn Bridge, where I sobbed for all of my grief, for all of the grieving I had caused, and especially for the way I had let myself go like that. For so long, I only thought of my own pain, but never acknowledged the fact that not once, over all these years, did I even try to forgive myself, to put the accident behind me, to live my own life without being dragged down by a memory.

For once, I longed for sleep, I longed for a way to rid myself from this world, if only for a night, to swim through the times that I was happy, and only hope that it didn't turn into a nightmare. Then I realized, I was the nightmare on the streets, and that I deserve to be trapped inside my head with all of the guilt lurking around the corners of my long lost humanity.

Curled up into a ball on top of my pillar, I allowed my mind to wander in and out of my past, of what could have been, and what is to happen now. The sky had started to turn a rosy color, the fog swirling along the roads and river below glinted slightly, as if it could tell it was about to disappear, evaporate, until tomorrow's sunrise. It's small specks of light winked up to me, saying goodbye in style, and then the sun's rays came streaming out from behind the now pale pink and yellow clouds, and killed my only countable friend.

Yes, I did just call that misty, eerie thing we like to call a fog my friend, because it is the only thing I have to count on these days. Everything that has counted, or could have, has long since left the picture I created. The other thing I hope I can still count on, that hasn't steered me wrong yet, has happened everyday since the newspaper business started. And like every other day, every morning, around this time, the faint sound of newsies, screaming the headlines obnoxiously into the open air, pour out into the streets of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Midtown, everywhere.

These headlines usually ranged from "most ridiculous thing you have ever heard", to, well the "truth." Some days you hear of two headed babies, while other days, you might hear about the malicious, cannibalic seagulls attacking pedestrians along the banks of the trader's port! Hearing these stories said aloud is one treat, but what really put the cherry on top of the sundae is when you hear the disdained groans of the fooled buyers when they find out the story is actually about the vast number of seagulls migrating south over the trader's port.

I still was not ready to deal with these foolish humans, so I stood up on my pillar, adjusted my hat securely, lifted my head and arms toward the sky, then I closed my eyes, and dove. Slicing threw the morning air, I fell hundreds of feet, more than enough to easily kill any human, racing toward the icy, black water below, knowing that even if I was at the peak of Mt. Everest and decided to dive into these waters, it would not harm me, ever. With my hat tightly secure, I pushed myself a little faster, and then finally, broke through the surface of the water.

There, everything was silent, solemn, my own little sanctuary to be by myself without the sounds of the city above. A few years ago, I took a break from torturing others and decided to try and find the answers to the worlds mysteries. So I swam in the ocean waters for many months, only coming up for the occasional fisherman, and lived in the blue, clear waters. For now, I was going to stay down there and think, for as long as I needed to, and when I finally felt I was ready to rejoin the world of mortals, come up and start over.

*_Off in a distance, a boy carrying his stack of papers heard the sound of a splash come from the waters ahead. His head jerked up and saw ripples of waves come from a spot underneath the bridge. He stood there, scanning the waters for a sign of life, but only saw the black, morning water's waves falling over themselves. " Anudder one gone... Shame." He shrugged his shoulders and continued on his route, no sense worrying about another suicidal person jumping off the bridge, right?*_

The year I went under was 1897. It was at the end of the summer, the leaves were just beginning to turn into their different shades of red and yellow, marigold and scarlet. Fall was nearing, but it would be back, and I'll always be there to see it, I'll be here until the end of time, right? By the time I came back up, it was 1899. Lemme tell ya.... for not being around for two years... nothing changed! The same marketeers were rolling their carts over the bridge, bums still sprawled underneath, the same obnoxious yelling from sellers over the same oversized crowds listening to men state "once in a life time, can't miss it" prices to gullible buyers...

And like usual, the air smelled AMAZING! The humid end-of-summer air with a cool breeze sweeping in from the west, with a blood scented breeze sweeping in from the west. The scent was overpowering, and I hadn't fed in such a long time, and I was running low on human food and protein...

You see, the thing about with vampires drinking blood... it's really not just for our own enjoyment. Vampires, as you may know, have venom that courses through our veins, and when you're the kind of vampire that gets bitten, vampire venom then starts to course through your veins. The venom works side by side with the blood you have inside you already, keeping it flowing even when you're heart stops from being, well, dead. Vampires like me, born vampires, we originally don't have blood of our own, just the venom. The blood keeps our muscles from tensing up, just like any human, and the blood carries oxygen, which lets us breathe. We vampire folk do, indeed, have to breathe, it keeps the blood moving. One reason why my mother died was because of the lack of blood she had. A good majority of it went to me.

Now you ask, "Then why do made vampires need to drink our blood?"

Very good question.

As we use the blood, we use up the oxygen stored in it, and after we've used it up, we start to feel dizzy, we can't breathe from the lack of oxygen, and that's when the venom comes in. Vampires blood is tainted from the venom, and the venom gives us that kick that makes us, well, invincible... almost. The venom is what starts to control us and makes us start to use our "animal" instincts. I really don't know why we use "animal" to describe our instincts. I mean, we're not human, but we're not animals either. We're DEAD!...

Blood keeps us from losing our minds to the, said, "animal" instincts. It helps us breathe, and it helps vampires like me from drying out, becoming a rigid corpse, trapped in our minds, and only hoping to somehow die than to be stuck like that for all eternity. Oh, and I might as well add, blood does taste really good too, so just imagine your favorite dish and gobbling that bad boy down, then come back and see if you can judge us for saying you, the people, taste good. It's a COMPLIMENT!

(I should add that not all vampires follow that main guidelines on the blood thing. With blood comes power, and with that, it drives some vampires into a frenzy to get more, and more! )

Well, back to the beginning, I broke through the surface of the water, smelled the air, saw nothing changed.... okay.

I waded in the water for a few moments, taking in the world above the deep blue when the screaming started. It started with a yell, then another, then a whole crowd joined in a magnificent chorus of screaming.. it was giving me a head ache. I look around and saw at the dock the news boys yelling crazily like they just got a good head line.

"There's a goil in the watah!"

"Heya! Get outa there! It's freezin'!"

Boys lined up along the dock, waving at me to get out! A splash came from near by as one of the newsies dove off and started swimming toward me. I stayed there and watched, puzzled.

"Hmm... how can I use this to my advantage?..."

Hey, I'd been gone from society for 2 years, I wanted to have some... harmless fun. He was panting as he swam in my direction, the oh so delightful fog swarmed around him as he came deeper into the water.

_*She disappeared, under the water she went. Stupid girl, what was she thinking? Where did she come from? No matter, I got to the spot where she vanished. I went under, but the waters were still dark, but at the same time luminescent. I called to her, ducked under again and again, but if she had went under, she would have been dead by now. I made to go back, the men calling out to me, telling me it's no use, she's gone, come get dry. I knew they were right, and I had other things to do than to worry about a dead girl. Then a tug came from my pant leg. I froze in shock...what was that?! It came again, more aggressive this time, like it was trying to pull me under. "Swimm!" My mind cried out, and I obeyed. I swam as hard as I could against the cold waters, making my every move not only hard, but painful. I came again, but this time curling its fingers around my ankle and pulling. I yanked my leg up as hard as I could, I wasn't gonna let some fish push me around. I squeezed my eyes tight as I dragged it closer to the surface, straining with whatever I had in me to get it into a view and punch it in the gills. It didn't restrain, and when I opened my eyes.. I peed my pants. A pale, red eyed, white face peered up at me. The most evil looking grin was plastered on it's face. No matter how terrifying it was, it was so beautiful at the same time. It was the scariest thing about it, in that moment, looking at..her.. I found that her murderous glare was nothing short than breath taking. On the other hand... "OH MY GOD YOU ARE THE SCARIEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN! WHAT ARE YOU, A DOLPHIN ON CRACK?!" Oh my witty, witty mind. How do I always manage to think of such things at these times. She let go and sank down into oblivion, her dark hair swirling around her as she went, her grin turned malicious to more humorous, which I didn't find confusing until later, seeing as that I was then swimming like no other to the dock where the guys pulled me out. They pestered me, asking me questions, but I didn't really pay attention, all I could think of was that horrific face in the water. The boys started calling her "The Ghost of Brooklyn Bridge", even though others told them they were crazy. Eventually the shouting in between them annoyed me, and I had to tell them all to shut up or I'd knock them all upside the head so hard that where ever their mothers were they'd feel it. I knew then on that I would never forget that face, that the face would haunt me in my dreams, as if it would never let me forget it, ever.*_


	3. my appologies

Dear my lovely lovely fans. So I have been gone again for a long time, but for good reason. Most of you know where I'm coming from when I say "school is back" and understand that 9 hours of class a day does NOT give you much time to do anything else. Especially when you're the head of writing and philosophy club after school on every other day and now trying to get a harry potter club going(it's not going well, I go to catholic high school, they're all anti witchcraft and stuff and I won't get into it right meow) Anyways, please forgive me, and I'm trying to get a beta because I just found out those people exist and I think if I can get on a schedule with someone, that could help me buckle down more on my stories and write some more. You'd think with writing club I'd be writing non stop, and I am, just not about yugioh or newsies, because everyone other than my awesome nerdy teacher would read nonsense like this. Kudos to my teacher. I'll get back on here soon, no worries. I like my stories that I have up on here and I really really REALLY want to finish at least one of them before this year comes to an end. I have a few months left so I'm going to have to work on these soon. I'm just saying though, they did come up with this fantastic thing called mail on here and if you guys want to comment, or just talk to me because you're bored and couldn't find a story that really appeals to your eye at the moment, hit me up, I'll totally talk to you and I always check my mail thing on here because I love love love getting mail off here.

I'll see you guys soon, I won't be gone for long.

Love always, Rachel.


	4. Chapter 3

... Needless to say, that was the most fun I'd had in a long time, well, that and swimming with some man eating sharks.

I venture back to the other side of the river, hat tightly tucked underneath my shirt, and surface under the shadow of the bridge. I replace my hat on my head again, it was sopping wet and tearing apart everywhere.

This isn't safe...

And needless to say!... I camp out under the shadow of the bridge all day. Not how I plan my arrival back to the world above. But then again, I didn't plan on spooking out a whole tribe of news boys, not including the one I scarred for life! Well, I guess the saying "when one door closes, another opens" could apply to this situation... or it could just be karma...

Wow... isn't this the exact image of a vampire.

The day flies by, mostly because I let it. I have all the time in the world, 12 hours is nothing. I don't need to open my eyes either to know that the realm of night has finally taken over. My eyes pop open, and I give a small grin. After so long, I can finally see the sky, the stars, the big crater hanging out in the sky that we like to call the "moon". I howl with joy and jump upward, into the air in a very nonhuman way, and out from the bank. After some cool looking somersaults, I land lightly on my toes and dash out across the land. I run by vampire speed, a blur so blurry you would never take heed to notice, my footsteps are a whisper, not heard by any human. A smile is plastered to my face as I whip through streets, fly over rooftops, clear rows and rows of wheel barrels. There seems to be more bums in the alleys, I can give this city that. I run all around until I end up on the porch steps of the fabric store.

I stroll right on up and walked in, the owner of the store looks up in surprise with the look of "Who in their right mind is coming into my store at this time?" She looks like she was just closing up, putting needles in boxes in one hand, dusting off counter tops with another. When it is in her head that a girl is standing in front of her; her face drops into a frown. I can imagine what she is seeing, a young rebel out and about way past her curfew whose hair and clothes still sopping wet with a look on her face that reads "mischief" all over it. She begins to walk towards me.

"H'well! Aren't ve out a little late, eh?" She has an Italian accent. I'm surprised she doesn't do some hand gestures along with it. She talks all snooty and mean, walking around me, looking me up and down.

"I came to see if you had this type of fabric..." I pull the hat from my blouse and lay it in the palm of my hand to show her. She laughs in disbelief.

"Hahaha! Of COURSE I 'ave your silly fabric! Vut, you expect to come to me now? The sun 'as alveady set, I'm going 'ome. Come back during my 'ours!"

She jabs her finger at a sign hanging on the door behind news clipping that does indeed stated 'HOURS'. The whole time she is talking, I am scanning over the store, picturing the fabric, the scent of it, until I pinpoint its hiding spot. I go directly to it, the woman trying to keep pace with me.

"Vere are y..." I whip out the fabric. ".. How did you..."

She does a double take, looking at the cloth in my hands, then up at me, over her shoulder to look at our last standing position, then back at me. The only fail with this is when she goes to look back at me, I am already gone from the store, the bell hanging from the door ringing in the background. I cackle like a witch as I slow down the block, the woman in the store is scratching her head and looks all around her. She resembles both a dog chasing its tail, and a human who merely dropped something and didn't know where it fell to.

I swiftly turn around, and for the fun of it, I do one of those dramatic kicks into the air, leaning back with my upper body and begin to walk briskly away. As I turn the corner in high spirits, I end up tripping over a little boy. The lad is up to my waist, a newsies cap sits upon his head, has plain brown suspenders, and a dirty pair of pants to go with them. He has a dirt-stained shirt on with holes on the elbows and a tear at the collar.

Because I am an idiot and forget humans aren't use to cool vampire tricks, I absentmindedly bend down from my waist so my stomach grazes the tops of his hairs, and spring up from my feet, doing a somersault over the poor child's head. I fall right on my bottom with a soft thud.

After shaking my head a couple times, I turn half my body around to meet a pair of blue eyes staring down at me in "awe". His eyes are wide and his jaw dropped.

"That was SO COOL!" He shrieks out in joyful laughter while clapping his hands and turning in circles out of excitement. I chuckle softly. Spazzy kid… He looks so tasty.

"Are you lost, buddy?" I look around to see if there is any adut(s) nearby, but find none. The happiness he just has leaves as his eyes dim and he bows his head, nodding.

"Can you help me, Miss?" He looks back up at me in a plea. Now this is a predicament. I know I have to help out the little guy, but I absolutely need blood, and I need it bad!

"Uhh, sure, kid. Just, umm, come over here." I place the boy under a tree.

"Stay here for a minute, I, uh, forgot something. over. there…"

I book it at the fastest human speed possible to an alley way on the next over. As suspected, bums are scattered throughout it.

"Hmm…" I neatly step over bum after bum, trying to find a good host.

"You're drunk, you're drunk, you're drunk, I don't know what's up with your blood, you're drunk, you're dead, wait wait… is that cheese?(Eww, you fool, did you inject yourself with.. ugh, gag!) Mostly every guy here is an unworthy candidate. I can't drink from the drunks because A. Beer+blood=yuck! B. More alcohol is consumed then oxygen while feeding.

I reach the end of the alley when I finally find a fellow not drunk, merely homeless. I glare at his neck and see it pulsing against his skin. I lean in for it, my fangs unsheathing as I open my mouth.

_NO…_

I tense up, mid attack, mouth gapping over his delicious neck. I am completely frozen, torn inside. A strike to his neck will surely kill him, especially since I am aiming for his vein. Isn't this the reason I jumped into the river? To stop my urge to kill the innocent? My mind is exploding, my eyes are almost blind and I'm shaking from the pause. My hands lock onto warm skin and next thing I know, his wrist is against my lips, my teeth purge blood from his body and it is deposited into myself. I begin to breathe easy once more, my ambition to strike him down fades, and when I am content, I almost have to rip my teeth from his arm to stop. Two red dots are bubbling up and streams start spilling over. Even if I don't kill him, continuous blood flow just might. I bend over his wrist and quickly swipe my tongue across the bite marks, and when I pull back, they have vanished. Oh the power of venom…

_Shoot, the boy!_

How long was I gone? It couldn't have been that long, right? Well, I make it like Sonic the Hedgehog and roll on out of there and back to the lost boy. He smiles up at me as I approach him, and I just can't help but smile back.

"Did you find it?" He runs the rest of the distance to me, and I smile at his innocence.

"Yeah, I did." His little face beams up at myself again.

"So where am I taking you, young man?" I ask, walking in any direction to get us moving. He blushes from being called a "young man."

"Well, the Newsies Lodging House! I jist started living there, and.." I take his arm and swing him around so we face the opposite direction and start walking again. I know just where that is.

We walk and he starts telling me all about his first week on the job, and suddenly it hits me that I have no idea what his name is.

"Whoa, hey there, kiddo. What was your name again?" He stopped mid sentenced, and smiled as he replied proudly, "Pip!"

"Pip?" Is that your newsie name?"

"Nuh, uh. It's my real name!"

_Well, his parents hated him…_

"Well, what's your newsie name? He smiles wider.

"They call me Pip, too! My real name is Pipkin Piper!"

_Yup, his parents hated him._

"How about your folks?" His smile finally starts to falter.

"Well, my parents abandoned me when I was a baby, so they were going to put me in the orphanage with other kids like me, but the place was too full and they took some of us to the refuge. But then the Newsies strike ended, and I bet you heard all about that, and Jack, oh he's the Manhattan Newsies leader and he's super cool, well he came by and got some of us out! But I don't know what happened to my mommy and dad…" His face completely drops now, and his lower lip quivers..

_Oh my God his parents actually did hate him!_

I stop walking and face him towards me. He has tears freely falling from his eyes so his eye lashes shimmer.

"Hey there, Pip. Men don't cry! Come on now, if you stop crying, I'll let you hop on my back and I'll carry you the rest of the way home." I make a cocky smile, acting as if it was a once in a life time deal. I would make an excellent newsie with this talent. He does end up putting a smile on his face for me and nods his head vigorously. He steps behind me and jumps up, his arms clamped around my neck and his legs wrapped around my stomach.

"You ready?" He readjusts himself slightly, then nods. "Okay, now, hold on real tight.." He grasp tightens, ".. and close your eyes." This brings me back to a time where I would do this with Jacob, and he would laugh his cute little laugh as I ran. I fall first on my back foot, then wprint ahead.

"Hahahaha, wheee!" He laughs and cries aloud, just like Jacob. I laugh myself, and I actually feel… something.

"Awwuh, sorry, Buddy, but we're here."

I crouch down once again and he slides off my back lazily, poor kid is exhausted! He starts walking towards the door when he takes my hand in his and drags me with him. I just stare at his little, tan hand in my marble white hand. No one has done that to me since I left Ms. O'Berry and her kids, since Jacob…

I knock on the door loudly, since loud chattering is easily heard on the other side, and a boy answers, no surprise there. He is yelling at someone else over his shoulder, laughing, but once he catches sight of me, he sobers up.

"Uh, I think you lost this…" I nudge Pip forward, and he complies. Dragging his feet up the last steps, his head is bowed as he stands in front of the boy with his hands in his pockets.

"Heya, Pip! Where ya been, Kiddo?" The boy smiles out of humor as he takes Pip by the shoulder and pushes him past the door. "Ya look exhausted, why don't cha head up to bed, I'll come up in a minute, and you can tell me exactly where ya ran off to." Pip turns around to me again.

"Thank you, Miss!" He hugs me. Again, I'm not ready for it.

"Oh, hey, please, Pip, call me.. Rush." He smiles a sleepy smile and walks under the boy's arm and up the staircase.

The male turns back to look at me once more.

"Thanks for bringing him back, Miss." He tips his cowboy hat at me.

"Not. A. Problem. He's a sweet kid. And it's Rush, Cowboy. None of that 'miss' stuff for me, thanks" Whoa, I'm acting.. cordial? Polite?

"Well, Rush, I think we owe ya." He says, leaning on the door post. "What can we boys do for ya? Walk ya back home, buy ya a soda?.." He flirts nonchalantly. Teenage boys…

"How about you watch your young ones, eh? I can walk myself home, thanks." I didn't say that part sweet at all. His face hardened slightly, but he was too much of a gentleman to say anything more, except for, "Well then, Mi.. Rush, if you're sure, you watch yourself." I laugh and say, "Yeah, I'll stay as safe as I can under a bridge. Goodnight, Cowboy. Maybe I'll see you around."

*_This very pretty girl gives me a cocky grin as she turns on her heal and starts to walk down the street, then like a breeze she flew away and out of sight. Creepy? Oh very much so. I'm still trying to figure out the whole bridge bit. I think she was kidding, but then again…I close the door and head up the stairs into the bunk room. Pip is sitting next to his bed telling the other kids about his night, and I listened in as he went from the market, to the laundry shoots, to falling asleep, and then to the part about Rush. She seams nice, but she sounds… strange. I quiet them down and pull Pip aside. He says that he hopes he runs into her again, and I silently hope that he doesn't._

I am already back at the bridge.

_Now where are those.._

I pull some swiped pins and thread from my pocket, then the hat cloth, and finally my ruined hat. This wasn't the original hat I first received, since that one was also ruined by water damage. I did take a patch from it though and put it in this on, and now I am going to take back the remainder of that patch, a patch from this hat, and sow then into my newest one. And I take my time sowing, replicating it from my first hat, and also because I'm horrible at sowing. I just can't help it! The only time I took a break was to greet my old friend, the morning fog, after that magical moment, I went back to work and finished in time for my first sunrise back. I didn't mean to think it, but once I see it, the first thing I thought was… I wish my dad could watch this with me…

I miss my dad.


End file.
